Hull leaves Reds’ CL hopes in tatters

Central defender Michael Dawson scored the only goal at the KC Stadium after 37 minutes, beating a hopeless Liverpool offside trap to head home and the hosts comfortably held on to record their second successive victory.

It moved them up to 15th place in the table with four games remaining, while Liverpool stayed fifth, seven points behind fourth-placed Manchester United who occupy the final Champions League qualifying spot.

It was the second successive game in which Liverpool have failed to score and heaped pressure on manager Brendan Rodgers, whose side have taken four points from their last five games.

Liverpool last won the English title 25 years ago to the day and their performance against Steve Bruce's strugglers made them look every inch a team in decline.

Although they had the upper hand in terms of possession, they created little going forward and looked frequently vulnerable at the back.

Hull seemed happy to concede the ball to the visitors in the early stages, safe in the knowledge that their infrequent forays forward and whipped crosses into the box regularly induced panic in the Liverpool ranks.

Sone Aluko should have put the hosts ahead after six minutes but headed straight at Simon Mignolet and Jake Livermore's header forced the Liverpool keeper to parry as Hull sensed blood.

Liverpool's only real effort on goal in the first half came when Philippe Coutinho's shot from a Jordan Henderson corner forced Hull keeper Steve Harper into a sharp block.

The hosts, however, looked the more threatening and went ahead when Dawson timed his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and head home a lofted ball from Ahmed Elmohamady.

Liverpool's lack of firepower in the absence of the injured Daniel Sturridge was evident and they struggled as the match wore on, although Henderson forced a smart save from Harper.

Liverpool threw bodies into the box and Hull retreated but Bruce's side looked comfortable as they followed up Saturday's 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace with another crucial three points. – Reuters